Apparatus for handling block-type material



Nov. 26, 1957 H. J. scHAEFER 2,814,402

APPARATUS FOR HANDLINGv BLOCK-'NEE 'MATERIAL Filed Jan. 7, 1955 2 vSheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

Ham/d J .S21/me fr Nov. 26, 1957 H. J. sCHAr-:FER Y 2,814,402

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING: BLOCK-TYPE MA'IAERIAL Filid Jan. 7, 1955 A A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fm'f5 17H6 Ercrz FIG# 12 GQ51111313 mmmmmm efmmmllmll mmmmmm EEE F VIN VEN TOR.

United States Patent() PPRA'IUSi FORL HANDLING. BLOGK-TYPE' MATERIAL Harold .I. Schaefer, Sti-cator, ll.

Atpplic-ation January 7,1955, SerialNo. 480,531l

4 Claims. (Cl..214-38'4)' rlhis inventionA relates .toa system and .apparatus adapted' to the handling of block-type materials, such` as bricks, lconcrete'.blockstiles. and. the like.

'l-hehandlingincident to the transportation of blockty-pematerials, such. as brick,.concrete block, building tiles andv the. like, from. the. place. ofV manufacture tothe point of use is. oney ofl the verylarge items of cost associated with the. use of the materials. Under ordinary procedure, the'lblock-type materials are stacked at the place of manufacture y pending shipment. materials are sent to material yards andrestacked f'or further storage while awaiting distribution to the points of ultimate use. And, even at the points of'use,` the materials are stacked again prior to-actual use.

Unless relatively elaborate and expensive equipment,-

`the cost ofa nished structure made therefrom. Also,-

the labor cost involved in the use of the block-type ma.- fterials has placed such materials in an unfavorable competitive position.Y relative to yother materials that can be used, for comparable purposes, .and as a result, the use of the block-type materials in new building units has declined.

`One of the broader objects of'this invention is the provision of a system and apparatus for handling and transporting block-type materialssuch as brick, 4concrete blocks, tile and the like,` which system and apparatus reduce the cost of the handling of such materialsbetween the manufacture thereof and the ultimate use.

As another object,A this invention comprehends the provision of a systemfor handling block-type materials in predetermined and fixed unitary groups of substantial size.

My invention has for another object the provision of apparatus for handling block-type materials arranged in fixed units which each contain a determined number of the block-type elements.

As amore specific object, this invention seeks to provideLv a system for handling block-type materials which utilizesas much. as possible lthe techniques developed for packagedmaterials.

Another specific object of this invention is to provide a hand fork truck of a dcsignwhich particularly adapts it for use in transporting block-like materials arranged and secured in package form.

A feature of this invention is a handfork truck for transportingv block-type materials arranged in package form, wherein means are provided for adjusting the truck to handle different sizes and shapes of these materials grouped in package form.`

These and other objects of this invention will become In most instances, such.

2: apparent from lthe following. detailed description when takentogether wi-th the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational View of a package yof'blocklike elementssuch as bricks, made in a manner conforming .to the system of this invention;

Fig. 2` is a perspective view taken from in front and to one side of afork-truck designed in accordance with this invention to handle the package of Fig. l, and includes a showing of 'auxiliary equipment which may be usedwith the truck;

Fig. 3 is a rear view in perspective of the truck 4of Fig. 2, showing the manner in which the additional equipment. shown in Fig. 2 mayY be stored on.the truck;

Fig..4-is aside elevationalfview of the truck of Fig. 3, drawn to a slightly lar-ger scale thanFigs. 2 and 3, and

showing the manner of mounting and carrying apackage of block-like elements. thereon;

Fig; 5 isa side elevational view of' a tine suitable for use in a hand truck of the type shown in Figs. 2, 3` an-d4;,

Fig. 6'is a rear end elevational. view of the tine illustrated in Fig. 5;

Fig.A 7. is a bottom View ofthe tine of Fig. 5, and is.

viewedasindicated bya line 7-7 and accompanying arrows inFig. 5;A

Fig. 8V is a front end elevational` view of lthe tine ofV Fig. 5 and is takenfrom the end opposite that from which Fig. 6.is taken;

Fig. 9vshowsan end-elevationalfview ofthe tine of Fig. 5l and a fragment of' the' truck in' an intermediate stage of assembly;

Fig l0.. is a view corresponding to Fig. 9 andv shows the tine and a fragment of a truck in the final stage ofV assembly;4

Fig.. l1 is a. fragmentaryy front elevation of the portion ofthe. truck adapted to receive a tine, and shows in detail the configurations of a slot in which .a tine is received;.

Fig. l2, is -a-front` elevational View ofv a group unit made of'block-likeelements, such as holl-ow partiti-on tile, in accordance with this invention; and

Fig. 113 is a group unit made of. block-typevelements, such as concrete blocks, in accordance with this invention.

The basis for achieving a reduction in'handl-ingcosts in accordance. with the. present invention resides in assembling a relatively large number of block-type elements, suchas bricks. or. similar items, in a package` in such a manner and in such number that the package can be readilyv handled with the aid of ay manually operated. fork truckand: thereafter maintaining the bricks in such package form for` both hauling and stacking until they are. deposited at; the site of iinaluse. In the case of bricks,

Iy have found. that a package made of approximately bricks of standard size, that is, two inches by four inches by eight.inchesis about the maximum number of bricks.

that can be handled conveniently andsafely by one man. The arrangement ofv bricks in accordance with this inventionisv` shown in Fig. l, and for purposes of discussion, it

willbe assumed that a standard brick has side surfaces 10'and 11; face or. backsurface 12, and end surfaces 13.. The disclosed unit or package is formed as follows:

Ay first course. of bricks 14 isv laid with the bricks on their backs, theend surfaces of the bricks being substantially aligned. A second course 15 is laid in like manner as course 14. A third courseA 20y is laid by placingl three bricks on theirbacks but with the ends thereof facing and parallel with the bricks in course 15, leaving openings 16 and 17. The openings 16 and 17 are then bridged by `bricks 18 and 19 in the fourth course 22 laid in crosswise relation with respect to the bricks of course 1S, there being three such bricks over each opening 16 and 17.' The rest of the fourth course 22 iscompleted with bricks disposed with their ends facing in the same direction as the ends of the bricks in course 15. The fifth, sixth and seventh courses numbered 23, 24 and 25, respectively, are then laid in the same manner as course 14, and the whole is surmounted by an eighth course 26 in which the bricks are laid on their side surfaces instead of on their edges. The entire assembly is then bound with a steel strap, the ends of which are secured together by any suitable and well known means to form a unitary package.

To protect the bricks from damage, the usual precautions may be taken, such as inserting heavy paper between the courses and between the steel strapping and the surfaces of the bricks contacted thereby.

The bricks, when assembled into a package such as that shown in Fig. l, are thereafter handled, stored and transported as a unit from the kiln to the building site and in fact up to the bricklaying station.

For those portions of the journey of the package from the kiln to the bricklayer requiring transportation by hand, as, for example, from the brickyard to the boxcar or truck, and from the truck to the building site, the hand fork truck disclosed in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 may be used. The truck is constituted, in general, of a frame 28 preferably made of metal tubing, a platform 29 against which the package of Fig. l may be leaned, and a pair of wheels 30 for providing mobility.

Spaced tubular members 31 `and 32 of the frame 28 extend longitudinally upwardly of the truck and terminate in curved handles 33 and 34, respectively. To the opposite ends of the tubular members 31, 32 are welded downwardly` extending plates 35 and 36 through which extend the axle housing 37 and the axle (not shown) on which wheels 30 are mounted. Tubular members 31, 32 are secured in spaced relation by means hereinafter to be described `which may include tie bars 38,39 in the form of steel bars welded to the exterior surfaces of the tubular members.

It may be observed that tubular frame members 31 and 32 are bent in opposite directions somewhat below the middle portions thereof so as to cause them to converge toward one another over their regions 40, 41 and result in handles 33 and 34 being spaced apart a greater distance than the lower ends of said tubular frame members.

Platform 29 includes a heavy steel plate 42 having bent flange-like edges 43, 45 and to the remaining two edges of which are welded stiffening flanges 44, 46. Flange 45 is made sufficiently wide so that suitable openings may be punched therein to receive the lower ends of the` tubular frame members 31 and 32. Plate 42 is then welded to tubes 31 and 32 to form a permanent platform for the truck.

The load carrying area of the platform is extended by welding an angle iron frame 47 to flange 45, said frame having short tubular sections 48 and 49 welded thereto through which extend the tubular members 32 and 31, respectively. The space defined by the angle iron frame 47 and stiffening ange 4S` is then covered with a strong wire screen 50 or an equivalent area of expanded metal or perforated sheet, the object being to provide a strong supporting surface for the material to be transported on the truck without unduly increasing the weight thereof.

It is contemplated that the assembled unit of blocktype material such as is disclosed in Fig. l will be transported by one or more tines on the truck shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, which tines are inserted in the openings 16 and 17 in the unit directly under the bricks 18, 19. Accordingly, one or more tines l,51 may be mounted on plate 42 in such location as to pass into the openings 16, 17 in the assembled unit of block-type elements when the truck is substantially vertically disposed alongside a similarly vertically disposed unit, and to engage the bottom edge surfaces of bricks 18, 19 when the truck is tilted backwardly and pushed or pulled on wheels 30.

Referring now to Figs. 5 to 1l inclusive, each tine 51 may be a steel forging or, alternatively, a composite member made of steel weldments and comprising a relatively heavy bar 52 of rectangular cross section, a transverse steel plate S3 and a gusset plate 54, bar 52 extending through a suitable opening in transverse plate 53 and terminating in a head 55 having laterally extending ears 56 on either side of bar 52. The distance between ears 56 and the front surface 57 of transverse plate 53 is substantially equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of plate 42 of the truck. It may be noted, however, that the thickness of head 55 in side elevation, as viewed in Fig. 5, is substantially smaller than the greatest dimension of head 55 across ears 56, 56.

Plate 42 has a plurality of keyhole type openings 58 therein (Fig. 2), each keyhole type opening having a substantially circular upper end 59 the diameter of which is substantially equal to or greater than the diagonal dimen sion of head 55 between ears 56 and surface 57 and less than the maximum distance across ears 56, the purpose being to make it impossible for the tine to fall out of the slot. The lower part 60 of keyhole opening 58 is substantially rectangular and of a dimension to receive the rectangular neck portion of the fork 51 between ears 56 and surface 57.

As may be observed from Figs. 9 and l0, tine 51 is assembled with respect to plate 42 by initially turning said tine so that the head 55 may be inserted into keyhole 58 through the lower part 60 thereof, and after ears 56 pass to the other side of plate 42, rotating the tine in the circular upper end 59 of the keyhole openings until the sides of the neck portion are aligned with the sides of the lower part 60 of the keyhole opening, whereupon the tine is slid downwardly as viewed in Fig. l0 to the position shown there. In such position, tine 51 is locked to plate 42 and can carry substantial vertical loads impressed ldownwardly on bar 52 as viewed in Fig. 5.

It may be noted that a plurality of keyhole type openings 58 may be provided in plate 42, the disposition and number of the openings being such as to accommodate all of the anticipated locations of the tine or tines to be used with various forms of block-type units handled by the truck. Since the number and size of tines may vary with the unit, it is desirable that each truck be equipped with a maximum number of tines of each size, the unused tines being stored conveniently in the space formed between screen 50 and tie bars 38 and 39. Since the tines 51 are wider at one end than they are at the other, a plurality of tines stored with their corresponding ends adjacent one another assumes a fan shape. Such shape is ideally accommodated in the space referred to since the ends of the space are defined by the converging regions 40, 41 of the tubular frame members 31, 32.

Examples of other assembled units of building materials commonly encountered are shown in Figs. l2 and 13. In Fig. 12 the units are made up of a plurality of hollow building tiles 61 arranged in two columns, the tiles being laid upon their sides so that the openings 62 therein extend transversely of the unit. The tiles 61 may or may not be bound together by a strap (not shown) as desired in the same manner as the unit of Fig. l, and a spacing of keyhole openings 58 in plate 42 is selected for tines 51 of appropriate size such that the unit may be conveniently transported by the truck.

The unit shown in Fig. 13 is made up of concrete blocks 63 which are likewise stacked in two vertical columns with the sides of the blocks resting upon one another so that the openings 64 in the blocks extend transversely of the unit. As in the units previously described, the blocks 63 may or may not be bound together by suitable strapping (not shown) 'as desired, and appropriate keyholetype openings are selected to provide a spacing of tines 51 calculated to enable the operator to pick up and transport a unit most conveniently and with the least risk of damage to the components of the unit.

The truck of Figs. 2, 3 and 4 may be very readily converted to ordinary hand truck usage for carrying boXes and other laterally imperforate containers or stacked smaller objects. The means by which the changeover is accomplished is shown in Fig. 2 and comprises a plate 65 of generally rectangular shape having spaced tabs 66 and 67 extending from one side thereof. Said tabs are adapted to enter suitable slots 68 `and 69 respectively in the bottom central regions of plate 42 and below a cross plate 70 (Figs. 3 and 4) the ends of the latter being welded or otherwise secured to axle-supporting plates 35, 36 to give lateral stability thereto.

When tabs 66 and 67 `of plate 65 are inserted into slots 68 and 69, the plate provides the usual lip by which hand trucks can get under a load, the load being subsequently tilted back upon the truck and hauled away. When plate 65 is not needed, it may be inserted into the space between tie bars 38, 39 and screen 50 provided for spare parts.

Some units may require that the truck be provided with means for preventing lateral movement of the unit on the truck. For example, if the assembled unit of blocktype material were initially provided with but one centrally disposed opening in place of the two openings 16 and 17, such unit would be unstable if mounted on a single tine disposed below the center of gravity of the unit. Lateral stability may be secured for an yassembled unit of this type by providing side panels 72, 73 on angle iron frame 47. Alternatively, the opening and the tine may be disposed on the truck at a position above the center of gravity of the assembled unit in a manner which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

It is understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of preferred embodiments of thi-s invention and that the scope of the invention therefore is not to be limited thereto but is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for handling block-type material and the like, a fork truck having a frame including a pair of spaced frame members, a load-receiving platform secured to the members, wheel means for the truck, a support for the wheel means comprising a pair of plates, one secured to each member and extending outwardly therefrom, a transverse plate extending across the support plates, the platform having a slot disposed below and parallel to the support plate, and a load-supporting plate having a tongue adapted to be received in the slot and to react against the transverse plate to maintain it in loadsupporting position.

2. In apparatus for handling block-type material and the like, a fork truck having a frame including a pair of spaced members, brace means secured to the members and extending across the members, a load-receiving platform secured to the members in spaced relation to the brace means, wheel means on the frame for rolling the truck from place to place, said platform having a plurality of keyhole slots therein and a longitudinal slot disposed along the lower edge of the platform, tine means adapted to be received in a selected one of the keyhole slots and locked therein for supporting a load on the platform against movement in the plane of the platform, a plate having a tongue adapted to be received in the longitudinal slot, and means for holding the tongue with the plane thereof normal to the plane of the platform, said tine means and plate when not in use being adapted to be received in the space between the platform and the brace means.

3. In apparatus for handling block-type material and the like, a truck structure including a pair of spaced members, a load-receiving platform secured to the members, wheel mean-s for rolling the truck structure from place to place, said platform having a plurality of keyhole slots therein and an elongated slot disposed along the lower edge thereof, tine means adapted to be received in a selected one of the keyhole slots and locked therein for supporting a load on the platform against movement thereon, a plate having a portion thereof adapted to be received in the elongated slot, and means for holding the plate in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the platform.

4. Apparatus for handling block-like material comprising a truck structure including a pair of spaced members, wheel means secured to said truck structure, a load-receiving platform secured to the members, a certain portion of said platform having a plurality of spaced keyhole slots therein, another portion of said platform comprising an yopen mesh Wire screen, tine mean-s having protuberances thereon adapted to pass through a selected one of the keyhole slots and locked therein for supporting a load on the platform against movement thereon, a load-supporting plate removably secured to the certain portion of the platform and means for retaining the plate in substantially normal relation to the platform.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,316,239 Hogander Sept. 16, 1919 1,460,266 Monroe June 26, 1923 1,532,700 Kinsella Apr. 7, 1925 1,921,661 Conner Aug. 8, 1933 1,922,560 Sullivan Aug. 15, 1933 2,102,977 Shoemaker et al a Dec. 21, 1937 2,514,972 Reed Iuly ll, 1950 2,626,711 Saul et al 1 Ian. 27, 1953 2,658,614 Van Patten Nov. 10, 1953 

